
This little guy (or girl?) was following my wife and me as we walked home from downtown earlier this week. We could tell it was a Karner Blue butterfly (the official state butterfly of New Hampshire, which is actually a thing) by its color and minuscule size…and it seemed to have an affinity for my wife’s sneakers!

For today’s complete Poetry Friday roundup, head on over to Michelle Kogan’s little corner of the web, where she is spotlighting U.S. Poet Laureate Tracy K. Smith!
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Ordering personalized signed copies online?
Oh, yes, you can!
You can purchase personalized signed copies of Flashlight Night, (Boyds Mills Press, 2017), Don’t Ask a Dinosaur (Pow! Kids Books, 2018), and nearly ALL of the books or anthologies I’ve been part of!
Just click the cover of whichever book you want and send the good folks at MainStreet BookEnds in Warner, NH a note requesting the signature and to whom I should make it out to. (alternatively, you can log onto my website and do the same thing) They’ll contact me, I’ll stop by and sign it for you, and then they’ll ship it. Try doing that with those big online booksellers! (Plus, you’ll be helping to support local book-selling – and wouldn’t that make you feel good?)
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Thank you to everyone for your support!
- NY Public Library’s “100 Best Book for Kids 2017” AND “Staff Pick!”
- KIRKUS Starred review!
- Kansas NEA Reading Circle Recommended Books!
- “Best Reads of 2017,” Unleashing Readers
- Amazon “Best Books of the Month,” Sept. 2017
- Positive reviews from Horn Book, School Library Connection, Booklist, Publisher’s Weekly, and Shelf-Awareness
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.- “Rollicking rhyme!” – Booklist
- “A wild romp!” – Parenting NH Magazine
- “Cute…intriguing…4 out of 5 stars” – Tulsa Book Review
- “Rhythmic…funny and informative” – Unleashing Readers
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Beautiful, Matt, that ‘periwinkle petal’. I’ve seen a few painted ladies (finally), but have been unable to catch a picture. This special one would ‘flutter’ for your poem just for her!
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We have tons of yellow swallowtails here, so I’m quite surprised it was this little beauty that showed up! Thanks, Linda.
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I love the photo and poem! Ruth, thereisnosuchthingasagodforsakentown.blogspot.com
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Thank you, Ruth!
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That’s a precious image, lovely and sensitive poem Matt. It sure looks like a Karner Blue to me. I’ve painted them many times, and unfortunately they are endangered–mostly due to habitat loss. Your state along with a few others is working to change this–I hope we don’t loose them. Thanks for shedding some light on them!
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Thank you, Michelle, and yes, they are a protected species here because they are endangered. I’m thinking this little guy was a male because of the coloration of his wings – females upper wings tend to be darker – but I’m not an expert.
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Gorgeous! Lucky you to have one that traveled alongside you!!
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He definitely seemed happy to see us! Thanks, Mary Lee.
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Beautiful! I love that periwinkle petal.
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Thank you, Kay!
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I am just finishing up a quilt of a flower garden. I contemplated putting butterflied in it, but in the end felt that I couldn’t do justice to it. Your gorgeous poem and gorgeous butterfly remind me of that, as well as confirming that I made the right choice.
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Oh, thanks so much, Cheriee – I hope the quilt comes out as beautiful as you hoped!
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